I was super psyched when I got my advance copy and I can tell you, it's already been battle-tested this under the following conditions and it is perfect for:

Long rides on the subway

Urban hiking (rain and shine!)

Killing a day's tedious work in an hour

Playing video games in the dark

Walking an angry Chihuahua

Epic exercise bike sessions

Writing this very blog post

I can't imagine many situations that wouldn't be improved by listening to this album. Matt Jalbert's mind blowing guitar playing toes the line between virtuoso and madman. Just about the only problem I had with their debut was NOT ENOUGH LASERS!!! I can assure you, on Collisions, AC on the keys has this problem fixed! The soundscapes remind me a little bit of the sounds my first computer made but the rhythm section of Charlie Dolan (bass) and Isaac Teel on drums will have you tapping your feet before you can hit Caps Lock. Here is the first single off the album, Friction.

If you live in the NYC Area, come out to their Record Release Show at The Knitting Factory (I heard advanced tix get you a copy of the album). If you don't live within the travel distance to my urban oasis, fear not, TAUK is always touring and likely coming to a city near you. Check out their current schedule of shows below. Pre-order the album before July 22nd, or just buy it normal if you are reading this from the future! Enjoy your lasers future guy!

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Caught my favorite childhood band, The Spin Doctors, last night at Brooklyn Bowl. I can barely explain how much these guys still have it. 20 Years after my brother and I spent our days singing along to Jimmy Olson's Blues in the back seat of our families Chevy Caprice, there we were being serenaded by Spin Doctors themselves, running through the greatest hits off their hit album Pocket Full of Kryptonite. Despite a lengthy hiatus due to lead singer's Chris Barron's bout with throat cancer, these guys played an immaculate show without a touch of rust.

The show was out of this world and left me without a question that I would pay good money to see these guys rock out again. The only question that mattered was "What Time Is It?"

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

As a young boy when people used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always answered the same way: A Ninja Turtle. I had Ninja Turtles everything: the clothes, sheets, costumes, school supplies, all the movies and of course the action figures. Ask my mom... I'm pretty sure we still have a big ol' box of TMNT toys somewhere deep in a closet filled with all their obscure mutant friends.

This Thursday, the amazing folks at BBQ Films are helping make my childhood dreams come true. They are taking the fully immersive approach to they have brought to their Labrynth, Zoolander and Fifth Element parties and putting a half shell spin on it. In case you haven't heard, these guys are known to take things to the next level.

Photo by Jacob King & Derick Winsett

I got so excited I had to personally ask Gabriel at BBQ Films why they are choosing this moment to humor us 90's Manchildren with such tubular party. His answer made us instant best friends.

For the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the time is now - the new movie is about to come out in August 2014, we've just elected a new mayor and the press has been talking about how crime in the city used to be (and how it was depicted in the movie). But mostly all of us grew up watching the film, and we always wanted to visit that amazing foot clan hideout. So we're building one!

Speechless... In case you aren't familiar, the Foot Clan were the evil and innumerable henchmen of Shredder, the arch enemy of our crime fighting friends Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael. They were as bad as bad guys come... BUT THEY HAD THE COOLEST EVIL LAIR EVER!! I can see it when I close my eyes in all its graffiti covered glory, strewn with skateboard ramps, arcade games and wasted youth. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about how BBQ Films is doing this massive installation at Villian in Williamsburg for one night only. I had to ask one more question, the most necessary one a Turtle Fan could ask... Who's your fave?

This is complicated for me. I'm a thinker, so I feel partial to Don, I'm the head of the BBQ Films 'film crew' of crazy creatives, so I am partial to Leo. But, I've always loved to party and chill out, so Mikey's also my guy. That, and Mikey is going to be the free-wheeling spirit of this wild event.

Everyone knows only nerds like Donatello, but that's okay because its going to be a Turtle-Nerd's paradise! The price of admission includes a Foot Clan headband, a screening of the First Movie with popcorn, a signed event poster, photo booth, free Ninja Turtle Drink, and of course, two slices of pizza dude. The event starts at 7:00pm with the screening at 8:30 and a bodacious party to follow. They are encouraging people to come dressed up and there will be all sorts special guests, prizes and activities. I even hear the original MC's from the film, Partners in Kryme will be in attendence to do a live version of their soundtrack hit Turtle Power. I can't imagine anything like this will ever happen again so make sure to tell every Ninja Turtle Fan you know to get their tickets before they sell out and prepare to upload a new Facebook profile photo.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

I just got back from the René Magritte Exhibit at MoMA. The way the Belgian surrealist deconstructed social concepts and juxtaposed them to familiar sights really has my mind in a twist. I really started getting into Magritte via my favorite philosopher, Michel Foucault, who referenced the famed "The Treachery of Images" and used it for the cover of his work "This Is Not a Pipe."

While looking through some of his later work I recognized his ubiquitous apple imagery from the painting "The Listening Room" on one of my favorite records. The powerhouse combo of Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood combine to do to your ears what Magritte does to your brain with this gem, Spanish Boots.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Thursday night, I was treated to the concert experience of a lifetime when the Violent Femmes made up for a Rain Soaked Summerstage show and completely blew my mind. Known to be Wisconsin's greatest non-cheese import, the Femmes brought a booming setlist that included their entire debut album just in time to coincide with the 30th Anniversary of its release. Every Day Another Song was there in the middle of a death sentenced Roseland Ballroom, as these guys showed why they are firmly regarded as one of the top Alternative Rock acts of all time.

Lead singer Gordon Gano's gritty, angst drenched words suggest a painful and often overtly sexual vulnerability that has connected with decades of listeners. His physically small but lyrically powerful presence was flanked by fellow original member Brian Ritchie, who may have given the single greatest bass performance I have witnessed in my career. Ritchie spent most of the punishing a full sized acoustic bass, shredding solos with a mastery on par with some of history's greatest axemen. A recent falling out with their original drummer Victor DeLorenzo meant his spot was filled by Brian Viglione of Dresden Dolls fame. Viglione never missed a beat (pun intended) on this unique Tranceaphone, a minimal drumkit which is played fully standing and features some sort of metal washbasket upside-down over a tom. The cavalry came in the form of a full compliment of horn players that included a personal favorite of mine, The Bogmen's Brendan Ryan who also chipped in on the keys and accordion. The evening nothing short of magical and even crossed the border into absurdity when I even was able to meet and talk with Gordon before the show.

As previously mentioned, the guys tore through a set which featured their whole eponymous first offering as well as some of their more country and bluegrass influenced cuts from Hallowed Ground, 3 and Why Do Birds Sing. They even played "Color Me Once" their obscure contribution to The Crow soundtrack. This night will probably go down as my favorite show of the year and ranks up there with some of the best concerts I have ever seen in my life. I was sad to see most of the youtube recordings have garbage sound, so I have shared a personal favorite video which dates back to 1983 to a local Milwaukee TV show where they play the heck out of one of my absolute favorites. They don't tour often so if they EVER come to your town for any reason, pay however much money it costs and go, they just plain old don't make 'em like this anymore.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Obviously I wish it were under better circumstances, but my interview with one of my favorite NYC bands, The Yellow Dogs, went viral after brothers Looloosh and Arash (second and third from the left respectively) were murdered by a fellow Iranian musician early yesterday morning. Obviously I didn't choose the headline, but I'm sure you know how that goes. I only hope I was able to further the reach and legacy of their music. You can read it in its entirety from VICE.com.

UPDATE: The surviving Yellow Dogs have since released a statement and set up a fund to help offset the costs associated with this tragedy. My sources are even telling me that there will be a Benefit Concert to help gather additional support the band.

Friday, November 1, 2013

There is sad news to report on the hard jazz front. The Legendary Ronald Shannon Jackson, or RSJ, passed away peacefully this past week. The man was a giant in his own right, but was also behind such groups as The Decoding Society and Last Exit. He was known for his larger than life drumming but was also a masterful composer and one of the only people I have ever heard of to play the schalmei, a personal favorite of mine which looks like a mutant trumpet-oboe and can play sounds straight out of Super Mario Brothers.

A pioneer of free and hard jazz, but truly unbound by categories. The raw power and talent in music his has touched many, including one of the best drummers and overall most radical guys out there, Eric Slick. Slick took some time out of his busy schedule touring time behind the kit of Dr. Dog and Lithuania. A legend in his own right, I asked Eric if he had anything to say about the passing of RSJ. This was his response:

"I'm not worthy of speaking about a titan of drumming such as Ronald Shannon Jackson. I first became familiar of his work through friends who played in the avant music scene in Philadelphia/NJ. A lot of Philly dudes (Jamaladeen Tacuma, etc.) were in Ornette Coleman's Prime Time, which probably meant they played with Ronald at some point. I'm a big fan of abrasive and unhinged improvised music, and RSJ's 80's group Last Exit with Peter Brotzmann, Sonny Sharrock, and Bill Laswell is downright incendiary. I don't know the song title of this one, but I remember that it freaked me out for a while:

Ronald is aggressive, free, and simultaneously melodic in his playing. This isn't noodling, this is a cohesive effort to terrify the audience with his sheer power. Who plays drums like this anymore? Brian Chippendale, Ches Smith, Tyshawn Sorey, and Chris Corsano come to mind - but not many drummers besides those beasts can groove this hard, even while playing free. RIP Ronald Shannon Jackson, and may your musical legacy live on well beyond your years."

Friday, July 26, 2013

About a month ago, we posted a glowing review of Quadron's latest pop-centric offering off Vested in Culture Records, Avalanche. We basically came to the conclusion that it might be the best collection of get-out-the-massage-oils and come-a-little-closer pop/R&B/soul jams I’ve heard in recent memory. But some people are still asking "who dare make me rekindle my love affair with pop music?"

Coco & Robin, Quadron

The guilty party is Quadron, a duo consisting of vocalist Coco O. (who recently made the jangly throwback ’20s-style “Where the Wind Blows,” on The Great Gatsby soundtrack) and multi-faceted producer Robin Hannibal, (who is also part of Rhye and the duo Owusu & Hannibal). The project is an offshoot of the Boom Clap Bachelors, a Denmark-based collective. There, now we have that all cleared up, right? Sigh...

Let’s simplify: Coco O. fronts the band with a voice that sounds like Adele or Amy Winehouse—but without Adele’s boner-killer melodramatics and Winehouse’s propensity to get too drunk and ruin everything. That’s the band’s biggest asset: Coco’s pipes, laid over hip-hop stutter-step beats and hooky melodies that range from laid-back groove to near-perfect pop composition. Yes, they're from Denmark, yes, they're soul/R&B and pop. Oh, and before I forget to mention it, Kendrick Lemar guests on the album on a track called "Better Off."

Robin Hannibal, who's in charge of instrumentation, said they owe their style, at least in part, to none other than Michael Jackson. The band cited the King of Pop as a guiding musical influence, especially during the recording of Avalanche. In an interview with Billboard.com, Coco and Hannibal said that they channeled Jackson’s inspiration during sessions at Westlake Studios in Los Angeles, where Jackson recorded often and cut several songs for Bad. They even dubbed the sixth track on the album “Neverland.”

But it’s the first single, “Hey Love,” that’s most likely to bring the boys to yard. It’s the kind of track that you might hear from the DJ booth at a club with a ridiculous name like “Splash,” or “Rain,” or “Grift” or whatever, where girls wear their best get-fucked heels and guys pretend that they don’t live in their mother’s basements. It’s also the kind of track that you'd hear over the speakers at Forever XXI and think, “This song is so catchy! Why haven’t I heard it before? Who sings it? And since when did I start shopping at stores that sell only clothes that dead prostitutes are found in?”

I mean that as a high compliment—to Quadron. What I’m suggesting, or attempting to suggest, anyway, is that Quadron’s one-girl-one-guy dance-pop aesthetic appeals to different audiences—the teen-pop set, club goers, college kids, mollied-up dubsteppers, etc.—which might be enough for the band to build the buzz it needs to make its summer tour schedule a success. That’s the last piece of the puzzle for an outfit like Quadron: the live shows. If the band can pull off big, bombastic shows that get people talking, Epic might have something potent on its hands. They opened for Raphael Saadiq on his 2011 tour, so now it’s time for them to branch out and fly on their own.

Can they do it? Come by Summerstage at the Rumsey Playhouse in Central Park Saturday July 27th at 6:00pm to catch Quadron open a FREE show for Lianne La Havas. Get there early because something tells me its going to fill up fast. To get you psyched for the insane natural vocal talent of Coco, here is a special acoustic version of her single, Hey Love.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

You know when you go to a discount superstore and they have a bin full of crappy DVD's for a dollar, but some of them have two movies packed onto the same disc, and they have little to do with each other, save for being kickass action movies from the same era? If you are like me, you typically buy it, take it home, watch both movies in one sitting, and never look back.

Odetta may have left this traditional song on the platter titled "Motherless Children," but soon after it starts, she jumps into the traditional "This Train," which was covered widely by folk artists thanks to the Lomax's. Who knew that two songs could sound the same musically?

Odetta's arrangement is fierce throughout the combo song, weaving between sounding powerful, yet at times, wary, while handling the dark subject matter and religious undertones so naturally that it's a shame that she is left out of a lot of conversations about the Folk Revival that was so critical to American music.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Today marks the beginning of the Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival. Tonight's show pays homage to Fela Kuti and is produced by one of the finest curator's around, Anthony Demby of HumbleRiot. One of the stars of the show is Sinkane, who I bumped into at last month's summerstage show opening for Fela's Son, Femi Kuti. After talking about how we lived in neighboring dorms freshman year at The Ohio State University, I was able to convince frontman, Ahmed Gallab, to sit down with Every Day, Another Song and answer some more music-centric questions.

People braving the heat for Sinkane at Summerstage

EDAS: I know your path has taken you from Omdurman, Sudan to Columbus, Ohio and now to Brooklyn, but where does your music come from?

AG: My music comes from all that I have experienced in the world. [These places] are all different. That's what makes them so interesting. I have spent a great deal of my life traveling and learning about different things. I'm drawn to unique and interesting people and situations so every experience in different and exciting.

EDAS: There is some amazing, world influenced music coming out of Columbus Ohio these days, why do you think this town specifically is having so much success fusing these long estranged musical types together?

AG: It's easy to live in Columbus. There also isn't much to do so creative people have the freedom to really work on their art. This yields amazing art. Because there isn't a serious competitive vibe in Columbus; community thrives and is well respected there. People love each other and sincerely support each other. This helps tremendously.

EDAS: You cut your teeth in Ohio's Punk Scene. What is the difference between your attitude then, and your worldly and jammy attitude today?

AG: I was young, naive and angry back then. I wanted to emote and I wanted to do it loudly. Playing drums in a hardcore band was incredibly therapeutic for me. I got a lot of out it. I am now older, more experienced and not angry. Love was always there but, now that the anger is gone, I can embrace it whole-heartedly.

EDAS: Last time we saw each other was at Femi Kuti's Summerstage show. Tonight you play a show honoring Fela Kuti. How does Fela and the Kuti legacy affect young African musicians today.

AG: He was a hardworking man with a vision. He created something larger than himself that will live on forever. That is inspiring to me.

Make sure you head over to beautiful Lincoln Center tonight to the Damrosch Park Bandshell and catch Ahmed and his band Sinkane perform alongside Baloji, Abena Koomson, Kronos Quartet, and M1 (of Dead Prez), in addition to many others. I'm pretty sure the show is free and the atmosphere over there is absolutely beautiful. I can't think of a better way to spend a hump-day evening.

In case you need a little convincing, here is a taste of the great world vibes Sinkane will be bringing to the bandshell tonight.

EDAS: Are the songs on Homunculus just loose jams or do you already have them pretty much set in stone as far structure? Is there a lot of improvisation in the recording studio?

TAUK: There are a few sections on the album that we let loose a little bit, but for the most part everything on the album is pretty structured. We wanted the album to feel to the point and not have sections where it was just opened up for no reason. When we play live, we tend to play the songs a little bit differently each time, weather it's the feel or through extending certain parts and improvising more. It's something that happens kind of spontaneously at the shows and is really exciting, but we didn't think it would translate as well to the album. When it came to improvising on the album we picked our spots.

EDAS: What was it like working with famed producer Robert Carranza? I'm familiar with his work on the Mars Volta's Bedlam In Goliath and really love how he can give each instrument its own voice within the song.

TAUK: We had worked with Robert before, and going into the album new that we wanted to make it with him. Like you said, he is able to give each instrument its own voice within the song. We have some songs where there are lots of layers, a lot of things happening. You never want things to sound mushed together. Robert has an ear for keeping the parts that are necessary and making them fit together. You want to be able to hear all the details of everything that's happening.

EDAS: From a touring perspective, which do you prefer more; large festivals like Peach Fest or smaller DIY shows like your current Spike Hill Residency?

TAUK: It's hard to say which is better, because each has its own experience that you can't get from the other. We've definitely played more of the smaller shows, and I would say we feel more comfortable in that situation. Being close to the crowd with everybody in a smaller space, you can feel the energy right there. It's different at the bigger shows, but playing our shows on a larger scale like that really focuses us in. We always want to put on as good a show as possible so depending on the situation, whether its a bigger festival or smaller stage, we'll tweak our setlist and approach and try to have it come off in the right way.

New Yorkers can see them play one of their more intimate shows tonight as they finish their three show residency at Williamsburg's Spike Hill. Beginning next week the guys set out on a mainly East Coast tour that includes a string of shows with Robert Randolph and festival stops in Roscoe NY, Virginia and the insane looking Peach Fest in Scranton, PA. I have to say out of all the amazing looking festivals that fill every weekend of the summer across this country The Peach Music Festival may have the best lineup of them all. The promise of two nights of Allman Brothers sets has brought a caravan of spectacular musicians to Montage Mountain, just two hours outside of NYC. Besides the Allman's I am particularly excited for the Black Crowes, Gov't Mule, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals and TAUK's musical Big-Brother, Lotus. For tickets to that, you can click the giant ad below and it'll take you straight to Peach-Site.

Special thanks again to my boy Stevez and Matt Jalbert, axeman for TAUK for taking the time to speak with us. If you live anywhere in the area, I strongly advise you to come out tonight at around 11:00 to catch these boys from Oyster Bay. If you say "Every Day, Another Song" at the door they will let you in for free! Also if you say anything at the door they will let you in because it is a free show. Here's another jam from Homunculus, which is now available on iTunes.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

This one has been on repeat all summer from the early rains to this week's heatwave. I Sinkane tear it up a few weeks ago at Summerstage. Stick with it for 40 seconds until the actual song starts. You may have another concern on your hands because this vid is a little NSFW due to slight nudity, but if you work in an art gallery I'm sure you'll be okay. Here's the totally SFW spotify link just in case you are worried.